International disputes: Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia; Kuwait is chief investor in the 2008 restoration and upgrade of the Ethiopian-Djibouti rail link; in 2008, Eritrean troops moved across the border on Ras Doumera peninsula and occupied Doumera Island with undefined sovereignty in the Red Sea.

Geography

Djibouti lies in northeast Africa on the Gulf of
Aden at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. It borders Ethiopia,
Eritrea, and Somalia. The country, the size of Massachusetts, is mainly a
stony desert, with scattered plateaus and highlands.

Government

Republic with a unicameral legislature.

History

Ablé immigrants from Arabia migrated to
what is now Djibouti in about the 3rd century B.C. Their descendants are the Afars, one of the two
main ethnic groups that make up Djibouti today. Somali Issas arrived
thereafter. Islam came to the region in 825.

Djibouti was acquired by France between 1843 and
1886 through treaties with the Somali sultans. Small, arid, and sparsely
populated, it is important chiefly because of the capital city's port, the
terminal of the Djibouti–Addis Ababa railway that carries 60% of
Ethiopia's foreign trade. Originally known as French Somaliland, the
colony voted in 1958 and 1967 to remain under French rule. It was renamed
the Territory of the Afars and Issas in 1967 and took the name of its
capital city on June 27, 1977, when France transferred sovereignty to the
new independent nation of Djibouti. On Sept. 4, 1992, voters approved in
referendum a new multiparty constitution. In 1991, conflict between the
Afars and the Issa-dominated government erupted and the continued warfare
has ravaged the country.

The dictatorial president, Hassan Gouled
Aptidon, who had run the country since its independence, finally stepped
aside in 1999, and Ismail Omar Guelleh was elected president. In March
2000, the main Afars rebel group signed a peace accord with the
government. The fighting, severe drought, and the presence of tens of
thousands of refugees from its war-torn neighbors, Ethiopia and Somalia,
have severely strained Djibouti's agricultural capacity.

The Vital Port of Djibouti Receives International Aid

In April 2000, experts estimated some 150,000
people, or more than one-quarter of the population, needed food aid. The
UN agreed to spend $2.7 million to increase the city of
Djibouti's port facilities since it is a crucial regional grain terminus.
In 2002, Djibouti became a key U.S. military base used to combat
terrorism. In 2005, President Guelleh, running unopposed, was
reelected.

In parliamentary elections in Feb. 2008,
which were boycotted by the three main opposition parties, the ruling
Union for the Presidential Majority won 94.1% of the vote, taking all 65
seats.

In 2010, Parliament approved a constitutional amendment that allowed the president to run for a third term. However, it reduced the term from six years to five. Presidential elections in 2011 saw incumbent Ismail Omar Guelleh win a third term with 80.6% of the vote and a turnout of 69.7%. The opposition participated in parliamentary elections in Feb. 2013, the first time since its boycott in 2003. However, the governing Union for the Presidential Majority won 49 out of 65 seats, and the opposition denounced the results.